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NATIVE OF NORTHERN INDIA 


ON 


THE REBELLION, 


CAUSES AND REMEDIES. 

WITH A PREFACE. 


LONDON: 

W. H. Dalton, 29, Cockspuh Street. 
1858. 

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PREFACE. 


The following paper was prepared at the request of a well known 
officer in the North-Western Provinces, and is published, with 
the consent of the writer, at the request of several others who are 
well qualified to judge of its value. It was not written by any 
member of that race of Bengali Baboos, whose convictions con¬ 
stantly condemn their conduct, and to whom the friends of India 
look in vain for an example and for efforts calculated to elevate 
their countrymen ; but by a man of a very different stamp in the 
North-Western Provinces, a native gentleman of the highest cha¬ 
racter, who has long been distinguished by well directed zeal for 
the public welfare. It is published precisely as he wrote it, without 
any correction of grammar or style, or the erasure of any objection¬ 
able expression. The writer is a man of loyalty, benevolence, and 
ability, and represents a class who are fairly entitled to be heard at a 
time when their country is attracting so much attention, and when so 
many other classes, both in India and in England, are submitting their 
views to the consideration of Parliament. 

Unfortunately it has hitherto been customary to legislate for India 
without due enquiry. Once in twenty years, prior to the renewal 
of a Charter, each House of Parliament has been wont to appoint a 
Committee on Indian affairs, and much important information has 
thus been obtained. But, for the most part, no cognizance has been 
taken of the sentiments of the population of India; or, some general, 
and probably totally erroneous conclusions have been formed from the 
petitions of bodies like the British Indian Association, which repre¬ 
sent the mind of the people as much the Chamber of Commerce in 
Liverpool represents the feelings of the Agricultural interest, or the 
Smithfield Cattle Club represents the opinions of the Factory men of 
Manchester. To the only practicable mode of ascertaining, fairly 
and fully, the real condition and the sentiments of the people at large, 
(the appointment of a Royal Commission,) there has always been a 
firm and unconquerable opposition. Even so lately as the end of 
1856, when the Calcutta Missionaries represented the anomalous and 
lamentable condition of the peasantry of Bengal, and prayed for a 
Commission of Enquiry, the Government of India rejected the prayer, 
and in June, 1857 the House of Commons, on the debate on Mr. 
Kinnaird’s motion in support of the Missionaries’ petition, plainly 
indicated its aversion to this necessary measure. But now, when it 
may be fairly assumed that the British Parliament will no longer 
believe that all is known that need be known, and that all has been 



4 


done that need be done, there is good reason to hope that the neces¬ 
sity for full enquiry will be acknowledged, and that the necessity 
for a Royal Commission will be acknowledged too. 

There are many points in the following Dialogue which deserve 
much consideration. Among these is the notice of the peculiarities 
of the Oriental mind. If these be overlooked, measures will be 
adopted that are altogether unsuited to India; and other measures 
will be condemned, simply because they are unsuited to England, 
while they may be precisely the sort of measures requisite for this 
population. Much ridicule, for instance, was cast on the pomp with 
which Lord Ellenborough reviewed the Cabul Army—the triumphal 
arch, the sweetmeats, and the like—and yet, there can be no doubt 
that this kind of child’s play is exactly the sort of thing which the 
native understands, and which secures his attachment. In like manner 
with the Proclamation respecting the Gates of Somnath. Perhaps 
there are few persons who will now deny, that party-spirit rather 
than religious zeal detected patronage of idolatry in that “ song 
of triumph” on the restoration of the symbols of former grandeur, 
which for so many centuries had remained the trophies of the invader’s 
victory in a foreign land. Judging by our plain English taste, which 
admires, most of all, the Dispatch which narrated the destruction of 
so many ships “as per margin,” the inflated address to Brothers and 
Friends, seemed diffuse and extravagant; but in dealing with a people 
among whom there are hereditary feuds based on some trifling per¬ 
sonal indignity, a century or more ago; in which a large part of life 
is spent in the ceremonies and refinements of caste ; and whose lan¬ 
guages teem with lofty terms of flattery and courtesy, our severe 
taste must be out of place, as truly as our winter clothing in India’s 
month of May. 

We have also to remember that we are dealing with a people who 
are not yet released from patriarchal habits ; who look for summary 
justice to him that sitteth in the gate ; and who are wholly unpre¬ 
pared for representative institutions. They require a paternal govern¬ 
ment. 

On the other hand, we have to consider the claims and the interests 
of the European community in India, as the supporters of our power, 
and the necessary agents of civilization. 

The writer of this Dialogue thinks that the European must mix 
more freely with the people, as Tod did, and others of the past 
generation. Others will doubt the possibility, at present, of this 
junction. The Englishman in India in 1857, has advanced in many 
things beyond the Englishman of seventy years ago; and there are 
few natives of India who have advanced at all. , There is little commu¬ 
nity of ideas; none of family habits, or of domestic arrangements ; there 
can be no ties of kindred; and the friendship between men who are thus 
severed cannot be really intimate and confidential. There is also 
another and wider difference. The Englishman is a Christian, and in 
many cases is an earnest Christian, or hopes to become so. The 
Native worships Kali and Krishna, or receives with reverence the 


5 


bloody and cruel traditions of the Mussulman Elders. If there be 
community of feeling between such an Englishman and such a Native, 
it cannot extend far, unless the Englishman is dragged down to the 
lower level, or the native is raised to the higher. The more closely 
they are associated, the keener must be the consciousness of imperfect 
sympathy. 

Nor is the case much better with the educated Native, whose confi¬ 
dence in his religion is destroyed. He no longer believes, he cannot 
believe, either its false science or its mythology, but he will not 
advance onwards to a positive and influential belief in the One true 
God and Jesus Christ whom He has sent. If he learns any truth, 
he holds that truth in unrighteousness. He will not submit to its 
power. He will persist in maintaining Caste, supporting Brahmans, 
and maintaining licentious or foolish festivals of idolatrous worship. 
In morals he exhibits no higher standard than many of the more 
stedfast Hindus. 

There must then be a change on the one side or the other, before 
there can be really a satisfactory affinity between the Englishman 
and the Native; and the expectation of securing the affections of the 
people by this intimacy and alliance, while each remains as he is, 
must be abandoned. 

This writer is equally mistaken as to Caste. It is true that it 
ramifies and permeates Native Society, and that it constitutes a large 
part of the religion of the Hindu population. It is said that we 
must maintain it ; that the people are more sensitive on this point 
than on any other ; that they will resent encroachments and indignities 
at all hazards, and so on. Still, the path of duty is here sufficiently 
obvious. Caste is based on a palpably false theory of the Creation 
of Man. It is a system manifestly repugnant to British jurispru¬ 
dence. It is hostile to the interests of the great body of the people. 
What then ? Is its maintenance, by our recognition of it, an essential 
condition of our security ? Must w T e indeed perpetuate it or lose 
the Empire ? It is believed that no apprehension of danger need 
attend a calm and tolerant policy, which simply leaves Caste to be dealt 
with by the people among themselves, voluntarily, like Freemasonry, 
but denies it all support, encouragement, or countenance. The plain 
duty of England, before all things, is Faithfulness to Truth. We can¬ 
not, as Christian men, admit that God did create four distinct races 
of human beings, and that the highest are divine and the lowest are 
impure. Nor can we, with common self-respect or fidelity to God’s 
revelation, admit that we ourselves are not made “of one blood” 
with the Brahmans. 

What then remains ? Is India to be placed in peril ? Certainly 
not. No real Christian will believe that it is impossible to frame a 
policy which shall combine with a complete non-recognition of Caste, 
such wisdom, justice, firmness, strength, and material benefits, as 
will secure the attachment of the people, increase and develope the 
energy of the European community, and bring down alike on the 
rulers and the country, the Divine blessing. 


6 


Let the Christian obligation to treat Caste as a thing which we 
can no more recognize than we can recognize the worship of Krishna, 
be plainly acknowledged. Let us educate in earnest: not, as hitherto, 
in a partial inadequate manner. Let our power be known and seen, 
for the assurance of the well affected, and the discouragement of the 
lawless and disobedient. Let us have cheap justice with a natural 
system of procedure, and a public administration of simple form and 
speedy action, including the development of the resources of the 
country; let the Christian Church give herself to the great task of 
evangelizing India with the energy of faith and hope ; and the result 
will be, the establishment of British authority on firm foundations, 
and the gradual amelioration- of the condition of the people, the 
overthrow of error, and spread of light and truth. Any other policy 
will end in speedy disappointment. God will not bless it; “ the root 
will be rottenness and the blossom will fly up as dust.” We may 
purpose to keep people in ignorance; we may discourage railways and 
trade; we may establish a military despotism ; we may fetter the 
Press, patronize Caste, and discountenance Christian Missions. This 
policy has been avowed by Lord Ellenborough and others, and in a 
great measure it has been the traditionary Indian policy. But it 
cannot prosper. We may not discover precisely the spot where trouble 
will arise, but come it will, and at last we shall either lose the country, 
or be driven to govern it on Christian principles for the glory of God 
in its final conversion to Christianity. 

Calcutta , January 12th 1858. 


M. W. 


To H. C. T. Esq. 


Dear Sir, 

I beg to enclose herewith the Memo, which I had pro¬ 
mised yesterday. I hope you will be kind enough to keep it 
quite secret, because if it falls into any other hand, it may do 
me a deal of harm, and throw me into scrape. You will find 
there, I dare say, many nonsensical thoughts, foolish ideas, harsh 
words, audacious sentences, and opinions quite contrary to 

yours; but you know, Sir, that I wrote it for Mr.-and 

from him I expect forgiveness for every fault except falsehood, 
which is unpardonable.—He was anxious to know my impression, 
and I wrote only to let him know it. 

As to your question of yesterday’s that “ what is now to 
be done,” it is difficult to answer without knowing the man 
through whom it is to be done. In this country much depends 
on the disposition and qualification of the person who is to do, 
than on the nature of the work to be done. In England you 
have only to pass good acts and draw good rules, and people will 
take upon themselves to see that they are worked in right way 
and for their benefit by the local authorities; but here the case 
is otherwise, the best regulations can be turned into a source of 
worst oppression by an unscrupulous and careless magistrate; 
and if you give us a good magistrate, he can keep us happy 
without any regulation at all: Panjab owes its happiness more 
to Sir J. Lawrence and Messrs. Montgomery and McLeod than 
to any system or regulation. Oudh was placed under the same 
system, but not under the same officers, and it did not succeed. 
Remove them from the Panjab and fill up their places by the 
gentlemen whom I name, none of them receive at present less 



8 


than 2,000 Rupees per mensem, and hang me, Sir, if Panjab 
does not go to pieces before the earth has completed its annual 
circuit, and another Guru Gobind Sing does not appear among 
the Sikhs before long. Colonel Sutherland asked the Govern¬ 
ment if they wanted the assistance of a Lakh of Rajputs, which 
he could easily furnish, at the time of the Cabul disaster, and 
now they cannot suppress the little Jodhpur rebellion without 
more European soldiers. I do not know how it is that General 
Outram—the acknowledged Hero of the <c True Heroism,” who 
reconciled the Bheels, could not keep Man Sing to his faith; 
either he is changed or some inexplicable blunder has been com¬ 
mitted. But does the Government know why the Azimgurh 
Regiment got suspicious, why it allowed the treasure to depart 
and then changed its mind and retook it; why the Palwars 
became exasperated, and why they are now so desperately fight¬ 
ing ; and a hundred other things—though appearing trifles but 
pregnant with mighty consequences—natives have naturally no 
moral courage to speak the truth, their religion allows them to 
speak lies, but at the same time, I am afraid, there are very few 
men in the world who are always prepared to hear and love the 
truth. A man may get Khilluts for speaking lies, but may lose 
his life if he speaks the truth. 

The natives have lost confidence, and England is wrathful, 
the country will shortly be deluged with European soldiers, and 
the Government has already assumed the sternest tone possible, 
the disaffection will increase and the country will doubtless suffer. 
—Though for a time India may become again tranquil, like some 
Volcano to heave its sighs only in its bosom and burst again 
with redoubled fury. 

Can a Government be considered safe or strong when its 
subjects are discontented and not happy? 

I had many a time thought of the possibility of a mutiny in 
the army—a foreign European invasion and internal disaffection 
and combination, though I had never for a moment expected 
such a catastrophe in my lifetime. The first of these, however, 


9 


we have already borne, and it is the duty of the Government to 
provide against the latter. 

If the Government are determined to irritate the people and 
turn every hand and heart desperately against them, I do not think 
that even three hundred thousand European soldiers will ever 
he able to keep India quiet; though fifty thousand of them are 
quite sufficient to turn it into a perfect desert. 

But man proposes and God disposes; nothing yet is impos¬ 
sible ; England may yet be able to send out some statesman, 
who would make the whole native population again a set of most 
loyal subjects by one stroke of his pen. Sir C. Napier a mere 
soldier when appointed Governor of Sindh was petitioned by the 
Baluchis against the officers shooting peacocks, his order was 
this : If officers will shoot peacocks, Baluchis will shoot officers ; 
and Baluchis remained as loyal to him as English. He fought 
like a hero and he governed also like a hero. We do not want 
acts and legislators but a just and energetic man of an inde¬ 
pendent mind like the hero of Mianee.—Let a magistrate be 
dismissed for his notorious unpopularity with the people and the 
whole thing will mend of itself. Sir J. Lawrence would never 
promote a magistrate whom he knows to be unpopular with 
his people. 

As for education T beg to inform you that it is my determined 
decision that if any thing is to benefit this country—people as 
well as the Government—it is education, I mean education car¬ 
ried on upon religious principles. Whether I live on the bounty 
of the Government or my private resources, whether I have large 
districts under me or only a few boys of my relations, I have 
made it the work of my life and hope assistance from above. 

They may abolish education, the prospects of India may be¬ 
come gloomy for a time, but I am quite sure that it is all for its 
good and for the God^s glory. When the Mahrattas devastated 
the country, no one could foresee that it would end in the esta¬ 
blishment of such a beneficent Government as the British. 
Nor when the barbarians sacked Rome any one could foretell 


10 


that the death of that empire will give birth to so many noble 
powers who hold now Europe. 

Though it is difficult to answer that question “ what is now 
to be done ?” but I may venture to say so much, that if any thing 
is to be done the first of all ought to be to let the people feel 
that Government will protect the innocent as certainly as they 
will punish the guilty, and no single innocent person will be 
allowed to suffer even if the safety of the empire be at stake; 
had this point been kept in view from the first, the revolt which 
was purely military would not have assumed such an aspect. 

I have the honour to be. 

Dear Sir, 

Your most humble and obedt. Servant, 



MEMO. 


ON THE CAUSES 


AND 


REMEDIES OF THE REBELLION. 


In the form of a Dialogue between an European and a Native* 


European .—What do you think of the rebellion and its causes ? 
do you think that Russians or Persians had any thing to do 
with it ? 

Native .—What a strange idea! How on earth the Russians 
and Persians could communicate and concert plans with such a 
vast number of natives, as they are, without the fact being 
brought to the notice of the Government. Had Russians or 
Persians any hand in the matter they would have marched their 
army by this time in Affghanistan. The Europeans never like 
to part with their own peculiar ideas—ideas formed in Europe— 
by which they want to govern this country, and decide every 
question howsoever grave or of whatsoever nature it may be— 
they see and know so little of the natives that it is no wonder 
if they have no notion of the ideas of the natives. They think 
that the natives will do the same here, what they would do in 
England. 

_Hid not those “ Chapatees” mean something ? 

jV,_They were mere (< Chalawas” to stop the progress of some 

disease, as Captain Erskine wrote, and never a political move as 
many of your countrymen think. 

E' _Rut surely the king of Delhi is implicated in the matter. 

N _He may be—He is a king and he might have extended 


12 


his hand or his mind to grasp the kingdom. The wish to become 
an independent king is a natural one. But was it ever really in 
the power of the pauper king of Delhi to alienate the Bengal 
army from the British Government? If it was, could he get 
a better opportunity to realize his wishes than at the time of 
Cabul disaster or the Mudhki and Pheru Battles ? 

E .—But then was he not a passive observer of all this mis¬ 
chief which happened to us in Delhi ? 

N .—And what else he could be; but for that you cannot lay 
the cause of rebellion to his doors. He had no moral courage 
to risk his life in trying his best to stop the horrid cruelties 
perpetrated by the mutineers in the precincts of his palace and 
under his very eyes, and perhaps most likely the goddess Hope 
gave him a gleam at that time of the restoration of his lost 
empire, but I can never for a moment acknowledge him to be 
the cause or the original instigator and plotter of this rebel¬ 
lion. 

E .—And are you then an advocate of the continuance of the 
pension to that miscreant ? 

N .—By no means—It was a folly from the first to allow him 
a place in the same Dewankhas from which his forefathers had 
ruled an Empire—and to allow the Maharajas to strike coins in 
his name up to this period. I do not object to pension, but he 
ought to have received it in Australia or New Zealand. To 
allow him to remain in Delhi was just as to allow a man to play 
with fire-arms in the powder Magazine. The sooner the name 
of Timur is now forgotten the better. 

E .—But the Ex-King of Lucknow ? 

A r .—And do you think Sir, seriously that a man would plot 
against the Government when his mother, brother and son are 
in England; a man who left voluntarily his own kingdom, and 
preferred to live as a common subject in the heart of Calcutta? 
It is possible that he began to stir himself when he heard of the 
disaffection of the army so as not to let this golden opportunity 
slip from his hand to retake his kingdom, or perhaps his courtiers 


13 


to show their zeal and anxiety, might have been trying since 
the first, one foolish act or the other to secure his restoration; 
but to alienate the whole Bengal army from the British Govern¬ 
ment, I think, was as much out of his power as to alienate that 
of Great Britain is out of mine ? 

E .—They say papers have been seized which throw great sus¬ 
picions on the Ex-King of Oudh. 

N .—That I do not know, but I have very little faith in the 
papers. They have not however yet been made public. 

E .—Well then, what is the cause of this national rebellion 
and of the revolt of the people ? The Government cannot find 
it, nor the people in England can find it. 

N .—Nor they will ever find it, no one can see the defects of 
his own face with his own eyes. The Government have searched 
for the cause of the rebellion in the heavens and the earth, but 
never in themselves, or most likely having found it in themselves 
now, do not like to confess it. The gagging Act has perhaps 
been passed to prevent the discovery and leave the Home autho¬ 
rities in quite darkness about it. But please, Sir, do not call it 
a “ national rebellion/’ it is a pure military revolt. 

E .—But have not the villagers of many districts taken them¬ 
selves to plunder and murder, and have nottheNawabs of Bareli 
and Fatahgarh and this vile Nanha and treacherous Mansing 
raised the standard of rebellion against us ? 

N. —Yes; but only when they found the Government weak 
and without an army, in fact ceasing to exist. If there be no 
army, no police, in fact no Government in England, what will be 
the consequence ? will there be no riot ? will the people not act 
on the proverb u might is right/’ and will they not take law in 
their own hands ? and here when the Government cannot control 
its own army, when they are let loose like so many wild wolves 
and the people are left at their mercy, what else can you expect 
from a people strongly suspicious of the intentions of the Go¬ 
vernment to take their caste. The Government, which though 
the best we can have, has made itself notoriously unpopular 


14 


through the ignorance and arrogance of many individuals who 
are entrusted to carry out its well meant designs. 

E. —But that is the question, what did induce the blackguards, 
the sepoys to revolt ? 

N. —The Cartridge !! The Cartridge ! !! 

E. —Never ! Never !! 

N .—It is indeed, Sir: First pray answer me a few questions, 
and then I will tell you the history of revolt and its progress. 
Pray, sir, answer me, were not some greased cartridges imported 
from England ? were not some new ones made and greased in 
the Fort William? Were they not issued to some of the sepoys? 
if you say not, then how it is that some of the newspapers to 
prove that the sepoys had no real prejudice against those Car¬ 
tridges brought prominently forward the fact that they fired 
their guns loaded with the same greased Cartridges which are 
said to he so obnoxious to their feelings, against their officers ? 
Was not the Government resolved at one time to force these 
cartridges upon the sepoys, and were not some of the officers very 
anxious to exhibit their zeal in removing the objections of the 
sepoys against these infernal cartridges. If not, then why a 
change was made in the Drill about cutting the cartridges with 
teeth, and why the “ Friend of India” wrote such thundering 
articles at the time. He wrote, if my memory does not fail, 
that in some of the stations the officers had succeeded (applaud¬ 
ing the officers of course) in introducing the greased cartridges 
in their Regiments, and they ought to he, and should be, intro¬ 
duced under the loaded guns. 

E. —I never recollect such sentences in the Friend . 

N. —I will not bind myself for the exact words, because I have 
got no file of the paper with me. I refer you to the papers 
themselves. 

E.— But the Friend of India was very foolish. The Govern¬ 
ment stopped the greased cartridges as soon as the objections of 
the sepoys was brought to their notice. Did you not see the 
proclamation issued by the Military Secretary ? 


15 


jV.—Ah Yes ! but the proclamation was not issued till Delhi 
was in the hands of the rebels; and recollect, Sir, that the in¬ 
tention of the Government to force the greased cartridges or in 
the native words, to take the caste, was impressed on the minds 
of the people through the length and breadth of the country, 
to he as a fact, beyond doubt, with the report of the disbandment 
of the 17th (?) I mean the Berhampur Begiment—Had the 
proclamation been issued before the disbandment of that Begi¬ 
ment, most probably it would have checked the progress of mutiny . 

JE .—And what you mean by the history of rebellion and its 
progress ? 

N. —Suppose, Sir, that the greased cartridges were imported 
from England and stored in the Fort and the new ones prepared 
there. Would not the sepoys on guard in the Fort observe the 
fat brought for the purpose and rubbed on the cartridges?—Nay, 
I hear they were taunted by the contractors of the fat or the 
cognizant parties. They of course related the whole matter to 
their comrades in the line. Native soldiers cannot he expected 
to comprehend at once the principles on which the Enfield rifles 
have been made, and the necessity of applying grease ; they took 
it doubtless as a dodge to take their caste, and resolved not to 
accept these cartridges at any risk. The natives prefer losing 
life to the loss of caste, an out-caste in this country is worse 
than dead. It is true that the cartridges issued to the Berham¬ 
pur Begiment were not greased, hut their suspicion was so strong, 
and aggravated by the unusual colour of the paper with which 
unfortunately those cartridges were made, that in my humble 
opinion, it was the duty of the commanding officer, by whatever 
means possible to remove that suspicion, instead of contenting 
himself by ordering the native officers to tell the sepoys that the 
cartridges were not greased, and if they would reject them in the 
morning, when they were to be distributed by the English offi¬ 
cers, they should he subjected to Court Martial. The sepoys 
did not know what to do, it was late in night, and they could 
not come to any conclusion; they rushed to arms in despair, hut 


16 


again laid them down when they were ordered to do so by the 
commanding officer. The Bengal Army could not believe that 
a Regiment of Native Infantry will take up arms against the 
East India Company on any other ground less than the fear of 
losing caste, nor they could believe that the Government should 
acquiesce in losing such a fine Regiment unless they are deter¬ 
mined to take the caste of the sepoys at whatever cost it may 
he. The Sowars in Meerut could not bear to see their comrades 
laid in irons for a fault which was rather a virtue or binding 
duty in their eyes. They released the other prisoners with their 
comrades only to create a confusion and facilitate their escape, 
and thus it became a signal for all the Regiments and Risalas to 
mutiny. 

E .—But why some of them waited so long and did not throw 
off the mask till so late as even September or October ? 

N .—I told you, Sir, that it was not a-concerted plan. Many 
of them had till late hopes that the Government would feel fully 
satisfied by disbanding the Regiments already gone, hut now 
they are daily convinced that the Government only waits the 
arrival of the European soldiers to annihilate and get rid of the 
Bengal army by disarming them or blowing them up by the 
cannons ; it is out of my power to give you all the local causes 
or the blunders of the authorities which actuated each Regiment 
to rebel at its own way and its own time. 

E .—But what on earth could induce the sepoys to murder 
their officers and the innocent women and children ? 

IVk—Ay ! that was the binding cord between the ringleaders 
and the whole Regiment, as soon as a few men consulted and 
agreed to rebel, they shot their officers to make the whole Re¬ 
giment proclaimed by the Government as that of mutineers, and 
thereby secure the services of all their comrades without the 
least fear of any of them betraying their ringleaders and going 
over to the Government or dispersing and taking the road to 
their homes. Besides that to kill their officers, to plunder trea¬ 
suries, and to burn Cutcherries, was in their opinion a sure 


17 


passport and the best certificate to procure them employment 
with much higher salaries in the services of the king of Delhi 
or Lucknow. The fools also thought it possible to exterminate 
the English race, and hoped that when there would be no 
English, the rajas will rise simultaneously and take possession 
of the country and engage their services on the highest salaries 
imaginable. 

B .—You said “ suspicious.” I do not think the people have 
any reason to suspect the motives of the Government. The 
Government never wishes to interfere in the least way with 
their caste or prejudices, proclamations after proclamations have 
been issued to that effect and why the people do not read 
them ? 

JST .—They read them, but do not believe them, simply because 
they find the acts of the Government contrary to their words. I 
know it is not the intention of the Government, yet the mischief 
is done, through the ignorance of their officers. Do you not. 
Sir, remember the row, which I hear, was made in Benares, the 
seat of Hindu religion, the resort of the pilgrims from the four 
quarters of India, at the time of introducing the messing system 
in the jail of Benares, and yet it was introduced. The people 
of the town met publicly and secretly to discuss the question, 
they insulted the magistrate openly and contemned the police, 
yet the system was introduced. The sowars were brought down 
from Sultanpoor and hundreds of the citizens of Benares were 
sent to jail. What would have been the consequence, had the 
same system been introduced at the time by the commanding 
officers in their regiments ? nothing more or less than brought 
by these infernal cartridges. It is a fact worthy of being sifted 
by a historian. Was it not a straw to show the course of the 
wind? Yet the Government did not heed it. Hundreds of 
other acts, too numerous to relate, have been committed in 
this way by the officers of the Government which convinced the 
people beyond doubt that it was the intention of the Govern¬ 
ment to take their caste. Many of these acts were totally un- 


18 


called for, and without the least gain to the Government or any¬ 
body. 

E .—And are you an advocate of re-establishment of the rites 
of “ suttee” and infanticide ? 

N .—This is the way. Sir, that the Editors of the Newspapers 
blend the matters together. The abolishment of “ Suttee” and 
Infanticide, was a deed in which even a boy clearly saw the ad¬ 
vantage to be gained, without any loss to anybody, and every 
one applauded the Government, but in messing system and the 
works like that, no one can see what gain could be derived, ex¬ 
cept the loss of caste (if it can be called any gain), which is so 
dear and valuable to the natives. 

E .—I thought from the first that it was very foolish in the 
Government to give even a pretence to the people to suspect its 
motive, as far as it was concerned with the interference in their 
religion: unbounded toleration to the Missionaries, unchecked 
distribution of religious tracts, indiscriminate zeal of many of 
the Government officers in promoting the cause of Missions and 
openly assisting the Missionaries, and the Government connec¬ 
tion with the Missionary Schools, are no doubt much to be 
deplored. 

N .—Here you and many of your countrymen, Sir, commit a 
serious mistake. No European can form, though they ought to 
form, a correct idea of the difference between the prejudices of 
caste and those of religion. Give a couple of Goldmohurs to a 
Pandit, and he will cheerfully compose a book in refutation of 
his own religion; but give him a glass of water, openly touched by 
you, even through the medium of a stick, hundred feet long, and 
he will not drink it, though you offer him a thousand Gold¬ 
mohurs ! I say “ openly” because secretly perhaps he may not 
have objection to do any thing either to please you or satiate his 
own passions. Few nations on earth are so indifferent to religion 
as the Hindus are. Their religion has undergone mightier and 
more numerous changes than that of Europe. It is absurd 
to think that the English are hated by the Hindus on account 


19 


of their religion : for the Mahomedans believe the shortest way 
to go to Heaven, to be, to cut the throat of a Hindu, to demolish 
a sacred temple, or kill a cow in the day of “ Id,” yet they are 
worshipped by the Hindus. Look to Ghazi Myan and a hundred 
other Pirs and Fakirs. The Mahomedans too do not hate the 
English solely for their religion, because the Bible is more honour¬ 
ed in the Koran than the Koran itself, and Moses and Jesus not less 
than Mahomed, yet their hatred towards Christians (the people 
of the hook) is more inveterate than towards the idolatrous and 
Mushrik Hindus. If the English believe in the mission of Ma¬ 
homed or the sacredness of the Yedas without any change in 
their manners, do you think that they would acquire any popu¬ 
larity among the natives ? It is not religion but the want of 
religion which has brought so much evil to this country. The 
people know that the Government is a Christian one, let it act 
openly as a true Christian: the people will never feel themselves 
disappointed, they will only admire it. Who can detest “ reli¬ 
gion ?” It is the order of their own ‘ Shastars’ that every man 
is to revere his own religion. You may have a thousand Mis¬ 
sionaries to preach, and another thousand as masters of the schools 
at the expense of the Government, or distribute a thousand 
Bibles at the hands of the Governor General. The people will 
not murmur out a single syllable, though they may laugh and 
jeer ; but take care that you do not interfere with their caste, 
you do not force them to eat the food cooked by another in the 
jails ; or thrust grease down their throats with the cartridges 
made by Europeans. I do not think such acts have any thing 
to do with the Christian religion. 

M —But would you like to perpetuate the system of caste 
which is such a great curse to India ? 

W.—By no means—But the teeth fall off themselves in old 
age though it is painful to extract them in youth. Difference 
of caste must vanish with many other offsprings of folly and 
ignorance when its proper time comes. To try to exterminate 
it now, must end in bloodshed. 


20 


A,—What bloodshed ! the sooner such a nation is exterminated 
the better, the cruelties of Nanha have made the Indians an 
everlasting stain on the human character, let them be gone and 
make room for a better race as you know the English are ; to talk 
of civilization to natives is to throw pearls before swine. 

N .—Are you. Sir, serious ? Would you, Sir } exterminate a 
hundred and fifty millions of human beings, one-sixth of the 
population of the world; perhaps equal in number to them who 
were destroyed in the flood by the Almighty wrath, you cannot 
make them slaves even, and keep them under the yoke of servi¬ 
tude. The Moguls tried to do that for seven hundred years, but 
the moment they grew weak to hold their sceptre, the Marathas, 
the Jats and the Sikhs, whom they had never dreamt of before, 
sprung to wrest it from their hands, you may not even allow the 
natives to surpass the English, as long as they are English, in 
the science of war and especially in the practice of Artillery, but 
you cannot exclude from the pale of possibility a foreign inva¬ 
sion. I mean an invasion of some European power. In what a 
jeopardy will not the Government of India fall with a strong 
enemy out and a disaffected people in. Even if you exterminate 
the natives and colonize the country with your countrymen, it 
may become another America, another rival, and another source 
of trouble, nay a perfect thorn to Great Britain; but it can no 
longer remain the brightest gem in the British crown, or a 
garden—a granary—a purse to England. Sir, do not make of 
India what Turks have made of the Boman Empire; but be to 
them what Romans have been to you; they carried civilization 
wherever they went, but never interfered directly with the man¬ 
ners and customs of the people. The Jews enjoyed perfectly 
their own rights under their Roman masters. 

A'.—But your countrymen have refused civilization; I again 
say, we have thrown pearls before swine. 

N. —But, Sir, pardon me, and tell me if you have ever tried 
to civilize them, have you ever done any thing for them purely 
in that respect? Take a Division, and let us see what you have 


21 


done for the civilization of its population. Take that of Benares 
for instance, one of the finest divisions in India, having a popu¬ 
lation of about ten millions of human beings, and yielding about 
a million of sterling pounds per annum to Government, it has 
been in the hands of the English since 1775, and now let us see 
what has been done to civilize the people who form a fifteenth 
part of those of India. 

JE .—Is there not a Government College in Benares, a magni¬ 
ficent College ? 

N. —Yes, there is one, but do you not know that the Baja of 
Benares had paid a lakh of rupees for its establishment, and do 
you think that it can civilize ten millions of souls scattered 
over six districts, with such a scanty means of communication 
as this country possesses; but look to the adjoining division of 
Allahabad, almost equal to that of Benares, there you will not 
be able to point out even a school of any kind established by the 
Government. 

JE. —Surely, they have done something for the village schools, 
and the education of the mass of the people since the memorable 
Despatch of the Court of Directors. 

N. —Yes, since that despatch; but what did they do during 
the last almost a whole century. Did they ever think of edu¬ 
cating the sepoys ? Could they not learn the Hindi alphabet in 
a month or two, and then spend their weary hours in reading 
useful and interesting books prepared for the purpose, and collect¬ 
ing a store of general information. Would they have thought 
for a moment of mutinying in this way, had they even a gleam 
of the resources of England? Would they have thought for a 
moment the cartridges as a means to get them converted to 
Christianity, had they possessed the least knowledge of the com¬ 
monest principles of that religion ? From the sepoys, and the 
people too, so grossly ignorant as to think Company Mai now 
too old a lady to hold the reins of Government, can you expect 
any thing else than the present confusion and havoc ? I hope 
if ever a native corps is again to be raised, whether for police 


22 


or for the field, let it be raised on this condition that 4 annas per 
mensem will be deducted from the salary of each sepoy and one 
rupee from that of sowar, to defray towards the expenses of a 
Regimental School and library until he passes an examination in 
reading and writing Hindi alphabet fluently and correctly. In¬ 
telligent enemies are far less dangerous than the foolish and 
ignorant friends. Let them have a correct idea of the resources 
of England, a gleaming of the past history of India, a notion 
of the benefits which this country derives from its connection 
with England, and the knowledge of the kind of relation which 
the latter maintains with the former, even if their officers do 
that, I shall make myself responsible, if such a thing ever occurs 
again as it has now. The rise and fall of a nation depend on the 
kind of education it receives. The fate of a nation, at least for 
some generations, can be easily foretold by knowing the nature 
and the amount of education that it receives. Even now with 
all the despatches and orders of the Court only some thirty 
thousand rupees could be got from the Government for the Bena¬ 
res division, and with the full operation of the new Government 
educational system including the whole missionary and private 
institutions, only one boy in 48 of school-going age,* or one boy 
in four hundred souls of its inhabitants could be counted under 
tuition! Education cannot be expected to produce that effect, 
which is so desirable, until the Government does not attach to 
it that importance which is so undoubtedly due to its rank. 
Bonaparte perused and answered a college report from the field 
of battle; but our Governor-General cannot do that sometimes 
for years. All the zeal and labour of individuals are lost by the 
apathy shewn in the Head Quarters. 

E .—But the people ought to look themselves after the educa¬ 
tion of their own children, ought they not ? In England they 
have their own schools and pay for the education of their children. 

N .—Here is the same error which you, Sir, so seriously commit 

* In Prussia nine-tenths of this portion of the population is stated to be under 
instruction. 


23 


every where, you blend the ideas of England so confoundedly 
with this country, that it is very difficult for me to explain to 
you the wants of India. However, let me try it, first let us 
consider a few points in which the two countries so materially 
differ, and on the consideration of which points the Government 
ought to form its policy. The state of society in England, at 
the time of William the Conqueror, may be compared in many 
respects to some of the hilly and jungly parts of India. He 
having found himself sole master of the land by the right of 
conquest, divided it among his vassals like Maafee Jaghirs in 
this country ; the law of premogeniture secured perpetuity to a 
set of nobility who have in all ages been thought as pillars of 
state ; and the income tax has brought high and low so equally 
under the burden that no one can complain or even pretend to 
have a complaint. The people tax themselves from year to year, 
or in other words pay only so much to the ministers that they 
think requisite to secure internal peace, and protect themselves 
from foreign invasion. The other works of general interest and 
public utility they take upon themselves, they meet, they con¬ 
sult, they subscribe and they act like true patriots for the bene¬ 
fit of their country. In fact, the king and ministers in England 
are nothing more than the servants of the people and responsible 
to them in every sense of the word, servant. Here in India 
the case is quite different. The Rajas and Badshahs assumed the 
position of a father, that is master of person and property both, 
they left to their subjects, from the fruits of their labour, only 
as much as they thought proper to meet their individual wants 
and expenses. If any one of their subjects built a Serai or a 
bridge, or dug a well or a tank, it was only to perpetuate his own 
name and not to aggrandise the nation, for that the Rajas and 
Badshahs only were to be looked at. They took from the Ze- 
midars as much as the latter could afford, they levied duties on 
merchandise as much as the commodities may not be driven out 
of market and whenever a servant of state amassed wealth be¬ 
yond the limit assigned to him according to the caprice of these 


24 


self-elected “ fathers,” a portion of it was easily brought to the 
Royal Treasury under the name of Dand, or forced contribution; 
thus agriculture, trade and service, the three grand portals of 
income in the world, were all subjected to taxation; and the 
Rajas and Badshahs did every thing which was required for 
the benefit of the country and the prosperity of the nation, they 
dug canals, they made roads, they built bridges, they established 
aim-houses, hospitals, and colleges. Hundreds and thousands of 
charitable institutions were established and hundreds and thou¬ 
sands of them received support in cash or rent free lands from 
the Emperors. The people thought this as their right and as a 
binding duty of their rulers. Whenever they failed to perform 
it satisfactorily and sunk in self-indulgence and luxury, the peo¬ 
ple groaned, complained and shook off the yoke of obedience; 
and so a kind of balance was always kept. You take more from 
the Zemindars (and I can prove it if you want) than the Rajas 
or Badshahs took. The demand on account of land revenue in 
Bengal has, if my memory does not fail, more than doubled since 
the time of Alivardi Khan—you monopolize opium and salt— 
you sell stamps and levy fees—you give contracts for drugs and 
liquors—you collect chowkidaree, yet do not fulfil those fatherly 
duties for which the names of Rajas like Bhoja and Yikram, and 
the Badshahs like Feroze and Akbar will long remain engraved 
on the memory of generations to come. The people of this 
country accustomed in this way to look to their rulers for the 
work of charity and public utility are quite astonished, and not 
a little annoyed to find the Government officers constantly 
begging for subscriptions on one pretence or the other. England 
sent an army to assist Turkey against Russia, the natives of India 
were made to subscribe for the Patriotic Fund. A Magistrate 
fancies to establish a hospital, the natives are called upon to sub¬ 
scribe ; another comes and fancies to have a Ghat, the natives are 
called upon to subscribe—a third comes and fancies an Asylum 
or Dharamsala, or library, or school, or tank, or well, or picture, 
or statue or any thing, and the people are called upon to subscribe.. 


25 


Though the amount does not come very hard upon the subscribers, 
yet it being against the customs of this country is very obnoxious 
and unpalatable to the people, and lowers the Government in their 
estimation. Let the Government officers cease to have any 
thing to do with Chandas and subscriptions, and let the Govern¬ 
ment lay a crore of rupees or so per annum apart for charitable 
purposes. 

E. —Bapre! where the money is to come from, the Govern¬ 
ment is already bankrupt. 

N .—Thirty crores, which never came to the coffers of any 
Mogul, is quite sufficient to govern India, and if it does not 
suffice it is your fault, Sir, and not ours. Make sweeping reduc¬ 
tions, reduce superfluous work, reduce superfluous establishments, 
and reduce extravagant expenditure and make people happy— 
the resources of the country are inexhaustible, with a little help 
the natives will be able to pay you even as much more as you 
want. 

E .—Was it not our Government which abolished the transit 
duty—the people must be thankful at least for that. 

N .—No one thinks about it—and in my opinion it was im¬ 
politic—the class which has directly gained by that is very small 
compared to that of agriculturist, and is composed entirely of 
bankers-merchants and shopkeepers. They are the wealthiest 
part of the population and best off under the British rule. 
They do not pay a single cowrie in the shape of taxation, and 
derive all the benefits of the best Government in the world; 
when the agriculturists groan overtaxed, these Mahajans fatten 
upon their ruin. I do not know how far it is possible to regulate 
and levy an income tax, but a moderate duty levied on all kinds 
of merchandise will not be felt by the people in this country, 
though if it is le vied on just principles, it may be felt in England. 
But of whatever kind and of whatever amount the new tax may 
be deemed advisable for this country, let it be fixed in rate for 
ever , and let it have as its preliminary, a promise from Govern¬ 
ment that this is a final demand and no more will ever be asked 


26 


for. I know you will never approve this promise of “ for ever,” 
but remember that your ideas are formed in England where 
people have a voice in administration, a sure guarantee to protect 
their own interest and regulate the amount of taxation from 
year to year, as they find the calls of the state to meet with. 
But the natives of this country are still living under a despotic 
Government, cannot dare to open their mouth in the state affairs 
and find their refuge only in the word “ Sudamad Kadim 
(law of precedence); once that barrier is broken and there is no 
limit to stop at, for the extortions of the Government. The people 
feel it. They argue it thus —“ if the Government has passed an 
act to levy 5 per cent, on our income, what on earth can prevent 
it from passing another act the next year to augment it to 10-— 
it must ultimately ruin us, so it is better as far as we can to 
oppose it now.” 

E .—No doubt the Government of India requires great reforms. 
Its fiscal, judicial and political—all administrations are based on 
false principles, it requires great statesmanship and genius to 
reform them—I hope the Parliament will take up the matter 
and do something for this country to which we owe so much. 

N .—This is, Sir, another mistake of your countrymen, they 
take up every matter so elaborately and make it so grand that 
it becomes almost impracticable and useless. If they fancy it 
requires to give a code to the natives—they labor for years and 
years, and spend lakhs of rupees, and after all when the code is 
ready, they find it too difficult to be translated in Vernacular, and 
beyond the comprehension of the natives of this country. They 
never think for a moment, that first of all they ought to make 
themselves acquainted with the ideas of the natives for whom 
they have to legislate: when I told this to a gentleman—he 
said, “ Keep your native ideas, we expect natives to imbibe ours ” 
Just as if Jesus Christ instead of coming down in the form of a 
man and mixing with the humblest class and delivering the 
word of God in the language of the country, had waited in . 
the heavens for men to go up and hear his lectures in the lan- 


27 


gtiage of Angels ! Asia is a land of trifles, a word, a move, a 
courtesy, an insult, an hour’s conversation, a letter, nay a look, 
decides here the fate of empires. Mahomed Shah was brushing 
his teeth when Jay Sing went first to pay his respect after the 
death of his father, the king to have a fun tried to frighten the 
boy by taking hold of his both hands, and asking, “ Well boy, 
how shall I treat you now ?” Jay Sing answered unhesitatingly 
that, “ O the refuge of the world, if a man takes hold of another’s 
hand, he supports him through his life, when you have taken 
hold of both of mine what more have I to ask for,” the king 
made him “ Savai” that is one fourth more than the greatest 
Rajas of the time, and so he was called all along Jay Sing Savai* 
You know, Sir, how much the British Government is obliged to 
the Maharaja of Patiala for his valuable assistance in the Sutlej 
Campaign. He asked Lord Hardinge as a favor to give his 
Highness’ hand in that of Colonel Mackeson then Agent at 
Umballa, the Lord did so immediately, but I hardly think that 
the Colonel ever understood its meaning. The Ladies and 
Gentlemen present at the Darbar were observed to smile at what 
they thought a mere piece of nonsense. Such is the land of 
Asia and such her people, whom you wish to govern by the laws 
and ideas of England. To expect reforms in revenue and judi¬ 
cial matters from Parliament is just to expect (don’t laugh at 
me, Sir,) your dinner from the moon. To us it is of no conse¬ 
quence whether the Court remains or is abolished, whether the 
destinies of India remain in the hands of the Chairman of the 
Court, or the Colonial Secretary of the Queen, whether it is ruled 
by Mr. Mangles or Y. Smith. We never take any interest in 
the discussions of Parliment, they show only how sadly the 
members are ignorant of the affairs of this country, they fight 
only for patronage and what is that to us, if in place of Grants 
and Colvins the country is deluged with Earls and Marquises. 
The natives may be delighted to hear the talk of having the 
sons and relations of Lords and Dukes as their magistrates, be¬ 
cause they think Amirs of England must live somewhat in the 


28 


style of the Amirs of this country, namely, the Nawabs and the 
Rajas: will buy plenty of jewels for their ladies, employ many 
servants and give large Bakhsish. But they will feel them¬ 
selves sadly disappointed when they find them, exceed in no 
other respect the present Hakimlogs, but in the ignorance of 
the country and its people. If the people of this country ever vote 
for the Queen, it will be only with an impression what they have 
of the difference between a king and a contractor in India. 
The king lavishes his wealth in gifts and khilluts and gives 
large Jagirs, when a contractor tries only to fill his own coffers. 
It was this false impression, or rather ignorance of English and 
England which took the Queen Mother of Lucknow to England, 
she thought that the Queen of England perhaps, taking com¬ 
passion on a creature of her own class, and being pleased with 
a high valued present, may pass a word from her mouth to give 
back Oudlito Yagidali Shah. Poor woman ! she did not know 
that our gracious Queen has as little power to give an inch of 
land in this world as Janab Aliya (the Queen of Oudh) has to 
give in the other. She perhaps had also calculated on procuring 
a recommendation of Pasha of Egypt in her way to England, 
and never thought that the recommendation of the Pasha of 
Egypt in such matters cannot be treated in England in any 
other respect than her recommendation in France to restore the 
house of Bourbons. If you intend seriously to reform the fiscal 
and judicial systems of India, why don’t you have a run by dak 
through the length and breadth of the country. See at each 
stage a Tahsildar, and many respectable and intelligent Zamin- 
dars and Mahajans, but none of those who have the least imbibe- 
ment of English ideas and talk over the matter with them; note 
down their hints and remarks, and in six months a man having 
a common sense can prepare codes which will fully supply the 
wants of these people. How strange it is that you do discuss 
such matters at the house of Lords for years and years, and never 
ask a question from the people of this country. 


29 


E .—When Government pass an act in this country do they 
not publish a draft in the Calcutta Gazette three months before ? 

N. —Yes, they do, but who reads it? except a few Babus of 
Calcutta fit only to he employed as attorneys or teachers of 
Milton and Shakespear in England, they have become so imbued 
with English ideas and strangers to their own country, without 
getting rid of that want of true patriotism the wish of self¬ 
aggrandisement, and other defects so peculiar to an Asiatic, that 
they even think in English language, being unable to talk in 
their mother-tongue, are now teaching their wives English, they 
do not know the correct spellings of their Hindu names, and 
consequently have now adopted the mode of English short sig¬ 
natures as A. Ghose or B. Chackerbatty. They cannot walk 
without wearing high healed boots and puzzle the Hidustanees 
by offering them their hands to shake, who do not know what 
to do with that extended hand. The Gazettes are very expensive, 
and the mass of the people do not yet understand the object of 
publishing drafts ; neither they are able to write petitions to 
Counsel about them. Why the judges are not ordered immedi¬ 
ately on the receipt of a draft in the Gazette to convoke a meeting 
of the respectable natives in their districts, note down their 
remarks and opinions and send the paper up to Government ? 

E .—Have your Bengalis not formed a British India Associa¬ 
tion ? 

N. —Yes, but can India expect for a moment a reform from 
this Bengali (par excellence called British India) Association. 
An Association which could not get any other person to represent 
its petition before the Parliament than an Englishman, an Asso¬ 
ciation, the members of which shudder from putting their steps 
on board a steamer, though perhaps many of them would not 
hesitate to indulge themselves in beef and sherry. 

E .—But tell me what has made the Government so unpopular 
with the people, what is the real cause of that ? 

N .—I can sum up the whole cause, or the real cause, in two 
words, namely, the reluctance of the English to mix with the 


30 


natives on equal and social terms. The Government did not 
become unpopular when officers like Tod and Malcolm, Augustus 
Brooke or Sir T. Munro were appointed to govern the country; re¬ 
luctance in Englishmen to mix with the people increased with the 
increase of their power. ColonelTodsat down for hours by the pallet 
of the Udaipur Rana in his sickness to beguile his time by showing 
him pictures and mirrors; but in 1851, when the last native 
independent state, I mean the Punjab, had fallen in the hands 
of the British, and their power attained its zemith, a very 
renowned functionary invites one of the great Maharajas to meet 
him from 12 miles and yet cannot spare of a few minutes to see 
him from his Cutcherry works. If the members of the Parlia¬ 
ment were sincere well-wishers of their Indian possessions they 
would have made Tod's travels, and Rajasthan, as a text Book 
for the Indian Civil Service examination instead of History of 
Greece and Rome, where they could have found in almost the 
first page written “ that no European can be an acceptable or 
useful functionary amongst the Hindus who is not familiar with 
their language, manners and institutions, and disposed to mix 
them upon equal and social terms." So the real cause of the un¬ 
popularity of the Government, and consequently of all the miseries 
under which the country labors is the reluctance of your country¬ 
men to mix with the natives, because without mixing with the 
people they cannot acquire a thorough knowledge of their ideas, 
sentiments, notions, capabilities, social and moral conditions, in¬ 
ternal economy, wants and prejudices, which is so necessary to 
govern successfully an empire, and through this ignorance and 
ignorance only, what a vast amount of money, labor, genius and 
energy is thrown away quite uselessly. The Government has 
become bankrupt, the people are oppressed and plundered by the 
very police which has been appointed to protect them. The 
debt cannot be recovered on account of the same laws which 
were passed to facilitate its recovery, the gentry and nobility are 
becoming daily scarce. The Zemindars had in my life time 
horses and elephants, have now become cultivators and plough 


31 


another's land, the Mahajans who could lend lakhs of rupees are 
now obliged to borrow in hundreds. The discontent and dis¬ 
affection is spreading and increasing fast through the length 
and breadth of the country. The Government will feel no doubt 
stronger after the suppression of the mutiny than they ever 
were; if the hatred of their countrymen towards the natives in¬ 
creases in ratio to the increase of power as hitherto, the disaffec¬ 
tion of the people and unpopularity of the Government, will 
increase also proportionally. The consequences are obvious and 
be assured the country will be ruined and desolated. 

E .—But surely there are officers still in India who should 
eclipse the names of Tods and Malcolms. 

N .—There are, Sir, but how few they are. It is owing to these 
few officers who come now and then to the lot of some districts 
that people have not yet despaired and risen in body against the 
Government. 

E .—Look to the Punjab how admirably and energetically 
peace has been preserved there, and how contented the people are. 

N .—Yes ! but at the same time our North Western Provinces 
owe all this rebellion and anarchy to the very Punjab for which 
Sir J. Lawrence has so repeatedly been thanked. 

E .—What you mean by this ? 

W.—Why, Sir, Lord Dalhousie annexed Punjab, but did not 
increase the European army—he poured the whole European 
army of the Bengal Presidency into the Punjab and took from 
Mr. Thomason, the best Civil officers that the North Western 
Provinces did possess. It is no wonder if peace has been pre¬ 
served in the Punjab with such an amount of European soldiers 
and such a kind of Civilians untied with the acts of the Govern¬ 
ment or the Circulars and constructions of the Sudder Adawlut, 
but at the same time it is no wonder if the North Western Pro¬ 
vinces are suffering proportionally for the absence of the very 
materials which helped Sir J. Lawrence in preserving peace in 
his satrapy. The great mistakes that I find in Lord Daihousie's 
administration are first, his not increasing the European army, 


32 


and the 2nd, his converting the 5 per cents, to 4 per cent, loans. 
The plan of the Punjab did not succeed in Oude because an ade¬ 
quate number of European troops could not be spared for it— 
nor there was time or man to select officers for it, every thing 
was done in hurry and in a slovenly manner. Now the conse¬ 
quences are to he borne. The very peasants for whose protection 
as an ostensible pretension, the Government took the odium of 
annexing Oude, have raised their hands against the Government. 
The “Friend of India,” wrote that 2 Companies would suffice to 
depose the king, and now three Regiments of European soldiers 
cannot restore order, such are the delusions of mankind at the 
time of success. 

F .—But how is this rebellion now to be suppressed ? 

N .—Had proper care been taken at first , it had not given us 
so much trouble, but now as it is, and perhaps may be a little 
more troublesome, the rebellion must be suppressed with a strong 
hand, no mercy is to be shewn to the rebels, they must be hunt¬ 
ed down like wild beasts wherever they go, even for years to 
come. The troops are coming from England and they ought to 
be poured in and pushed on as fast as practicable, let the man 
who has dared to oppose the British authority whether he is a 
King or a Maharaja meet the extreme penalty of law. Let the 
people be convinced, by whatsoever means it may be possible, of 
the resources of England and the power of the English, but be 
careful that you, at the same time, convince the people of the 
cool and calm judgment and impartial justice of the British 
Government and the influence of the Christian religion. Do 
not condemn the whole nation if a handful of Badmashes or 
certain delinquents disaffected for the loss of political power or 
the power of plunder, or suffering from the hands of the police 
and the Court officials, have raised the standard of rebellion, or 
your own army has mutinied against you through your mistakes. 
Do not hang an innocent man because the real culprit cannot be 
found, or the man possesses an immense wealth or a prodigious 
state or a large pension, or is obnoxious to the police or magis- 


33 


trate strike terror by all means, by hanging the guilty, but never 
alienate from you and irritate the people by punishing the inno¬ 
cent. If a man commits a crime, do not burn or plunder his 
whole village. Till a man is not proved guilty, do not let him 
feel that you are suspicious or have no trust in him. It is a 
time that the wants of the army must be supplied in carriage, 
&c., by force and impressment, but see that every thing is paid 
fairly and liberally. Delhi is taken and Lucknow relieved. 
Mansing will soon be killed or arrested, and I am quite sure that 
before cold season is over the rebellion will be suppressed and 
order restored. However I deplore the fate of my country. It 
was a day when Lord Lake entered Delhi to save it from the 
depredations of the Marathas and to raise it to a first class city 
from a perfect desolation, and now it is a day after more than 
half a century that General Wilson enters it to massacre and 
plunder the innocent inhabitants indiscriminately, with the muti¬ 
neers, and convert it from a first rate city of the British India 
to a “ perfect desolation \” 

E .—And what reforms would you propose immediately after 
the suppression of the rebellion ? 

N .—For that. Sir, do not ask me because you. Sir, want some 
elaborate logically deduced theoretical reform which is utterly 
beyond the conception of a native, we live in the lands of trifles, 
and the reforms which we want are also very trifling; but first 
of all, let us have a Royal commission. Unless India is so for¬ 
tunate that Sir J. Lawrence is appointed Governor-General with 
the powers of the President of the Board of Control, or her own 
Council or the Court of Directors take it into their heads to 
select at once Commissioners from men who may be found even 
better than Sir John. The Commissioners must be experienced 
men, well acquainted with the languages of the country, not 
very old, active, sharp, stout and bold, who can bear the fatigues 
of long journey and are unreservedly disposed to mix with the 
people. They must not travel like the Governors-General to cut 
the Burs and Peepuls which give such a cool shade to the weary 


34 


traveller, to consume the wood, grass and earthen pots which 
take the poor peasants months to prepare and to fill the coffers 
of the Burkandazes who invariably pocket the price of all such 
things for themselves, nor remain shut up in the big tents sur¬ 
rounded by Secretaries like the Governor-General, nor content 
themselves merely with, or waste their much time in, inspecting 
the records, be prepared to travel by Dak with one or two Secre¬ 
taries through the length and breadth of the country and collect 
their information from the people, and the people only, corro¬ 
borated of course by the records of the offices. They must not 
put up with the local authorities, for by so doing the people will 
be overawed to give any correct information; though the Com¬ 
missioners must see and hear also the local authorities and have 
many references to adjust with them. The party which is 
against the Royal Commission, and wants to keep the public of 
England in perpetual darkness about this country, may object 
and say that such a commission will put the Indian Government 
in a great jeopardy, and the people will set at naught its authority, 
but ask them if the annual tours of the Commissioners of Revenue 
or the Governors put the magistrates in jeopardy and do the 
people set at naught their authority. All the other reforms 
must depend on the result of the enquiries of these Commissioners, 
but I can name a few subjects towards which the attention of 
the Commissioners may be drawn most prominently, viz. : 1st, 
reduction in expenditure by reducing superfluous works like 
hundreds of references and statements, innumerable appeals and 
huge appendages of law and Court formalities, by abolishing 
superfluous establishments and stopping the extravagancies of the 
Government, If I be allowed to see all the bills for one year 
which are submitted to the Auditors office for the whole of India, 
I dare say I can suggest a reduction of at least of five crores of 
rupees per annum; 2nd, attaching greatest possible importance 
to the education of the mass of the people and appointing an 
educational Secretary to the Government of India, the education 
must be carried on a sounder principle, and religion must be 


35 


fostered. DonT turn India from idolatry to atheism ; 3rd, cen¬ 
tralizing authority in the district officers as they have done in 
the Punjab, I mean do away with judges. Make the magistrates. 
Deputy Commissioners, convert the Deputy Collectors into extra 
assistants. Those cases only where the punishment is to he hang¬ 
ing or transportation are to be tried by the Commissioners, the 
rest by the Deputy Commissioners; appeal of course lying to the 
Commissioner and his decision to be final, reduce the number of 
Commissioners^ give them each a good personal assistant or Secre¬ 
tary, abolish the useless Board of Revenue and the burthensome 
Sudder Adawlut, give three or four more Secretaries to the 
Lieutenant Governors and the Chief Commissioners. Give them 
both more powers and give plenty of European assistants and 
native extra assistants to the Deputy Commissioners. Each 
Tahsil ought to have a European assistant. 4th. Stopping all 
the native newspapers. Let one and only one be issued in each 
presidency under the immediate superintendence and control of 
the Director of Public Instruction, if you go through the file 
of only Chashmaifaiz for the last year, you shall be surprized to 
find that the rebellion is yet so circumscribed. 5th. Preparation 
of very short and most simple codes for Civil, Criminal and 
Revenue cases. They ought to be published in all the languages 
and alphabets current in the country. 6th. Disallowing the 
Yakeels and Mukhtars who are not lawyers but professional 
liars ; had I been king I had made a lie as punishable as murder. 
Arbitration ought to be made compulsory in civil cases, but the 
arbitrators to be appointed by the parties themselves. 7th. 
Making the Cutcherries in the hearts of the cities and a little 
more respectable, so that the natives may not think it as a long 
journey or a Pluto’s realm, but as a Government office, to enter 
which is, by no means, disgraceful. This cannot be done as long 
as the peons of the Court are allowed to treat insolently and 
disgracefully the persons who are compelled to attend the Court. 
Let the authorities treat the persons who go to them in the 
Cutcherries, and give them seats according to their ranks, as 


36 


they do in their houses. The custom of receiving visitors at 
home only has made the Cutcherries very contemptible, no one 
likes to go there as far as possible either as a plaintiff or a wit¬ 
ness. Let the public officers furnish their Cutcherries with carpets 
and chairs and receive the visitors there as the natives receive 
in their Durbars; the objection which the respectable natives 
now have to go to the Cutcherries will soon vanish, and the cases 
with the parties themselves present with respectable witnesses 
without any Vakeel to advise them to speak nothing but false¬ 
hood, will soon be decided without much time and trouble, nearer 
to truth and generally speaking satisfactorily to the people, a 
little courtesy and the commonest attention on the part of the 
authorities will achieve wonders. 8th. Making a provision in 
your revenue code against the great Zamindars being reduced 
in a short time to mere cultivators and their lands passing in 
the hands of some Mahajan : at such a settled state of the country 
which it enjoys under the British Government, and when there 
is no fresh grant of land from the state, the law of division to 
infinity is very injurious to the existence of great Zamindars and 
nobility. 9th. Electing the Thanadars by the people like the 
Lord Mayor of London, though the power of dismissal is to 
remain with the magistrate. The appointments of the Tahsildars 
and Saristadars ought to be gazetted like those of Munsiffs. 
The Tahsildars should have powers of Munsiffs and Deputy Ma¬ 
gistrates. 10th. Increasing number of European troops by 10 
or 20 thousand; local corps must be raised in different localities, 
never confine them to one caste or to the inhabitants of one part 
of the country, never import foreigners like Africans, &c., more 
than necessary, otherwise men of India will starve for the want 
of employment, 4 or 5 officers are quite sufficient for a corps, but 
they must think it the work for life and set their whole heart 
and soul in their corps without the faintest hope of ever getting 
a civil employment, it is not the quantity but the quality of the 
officers which has been the cause of our losing the Bengal army, 
for as soon as an officer made himself a little acquainted with 


37 


the languages of the country and showed himself conspicuously 
and knew a little of the people he was drafted out for the Civil 
Service and the Regiment left in their hands of mere boys who 
if failed in other things did not fail in imitating the arrogance 
of the Civilians and treating their sepoys with the same con¬ 
tempt and hatred as the Jemadars and Thanadars and sometimes 
Maharajas and Nawabs also are treated by their brother Hazurs 
of the Civil Service. 11th. Having the keeper of Jail always 
a European to protect the prisoners from the tortures of the 
native Daroghas, I would never allow the prisoners to increase 
so much; and have recourse to fine and flogging—flogging is the 
best punishment; felt; as the wise Chinese say,—equally by every 
man of whatsoever position he may be. 12th. Giving free passage 
at least to 10 natives of this country selected by the different 
Governments through their Commissioners every year to go to 
England; arrange for the Hindus about water and cooking places 
in Egypt and the board steamers. This is a very important 
thing equal to 10 European Regiments. 13th. Making grain 
cheap; put a check on its exportation. 14th. Expediting rail¬ 
ways and increasing facility of communication in the interior. 
Rut remember that to mix with the people and to make yourself 
perfectly acquainted with the country is of the first importance, 
without that; no reform can be of any use; and if you do that; 
you will never be wanting any hint or advise from the others. 
Let the Governors at the time of their tours examine the district 
officers like Mr. Thomason by putting a few pertinent questions 
in their knowledge of the country and the people and let their 
promotion depend on the amount of that knowledge and popu¬ 
larity with the people; and not with the amount of favoritism in 
certain quarters. 


CALCUTTA: 

PRINTED BY J. THOMAS, AT THE BAPTIST MISSION PRESS. 

1858. 






















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